The Garden of the Gods Visitor Center and Rock Ledge Ranch, which neighbor each other at 30th Street and Gateway Road, are planning a joint Earth Day event
Saturday, April 22.
Going from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., activities will be free at both locations.
Events at the privately owned Visitor Center will include guided nature walks, an Air Force Academy cadet and falcon, a magic show, birds of prey and the Fort
Carson Mounted Color Guard. At the city-owned Rock Ledge Ranch, people can help plant 12 new apple trees in the historic orchard and attend living-history
demonstrations at the American Indian area, the 1860 Homestead, 1880 farm, the blacksmith building and the 1907 Orchard House.
For those who would rather work than play, the Rocky Mountain Field Institute has scheduled a drainage-control/tree planting project in the Garden of the Gods City
Park April 22. Advance registration is necessary at 385-5947.
According to Melissa Walker of the Visitor Center, the Garden-Rock Ledge Earth Day combo came about through discussions with the Colorado Springs Forestry
Depart-ment. “Forestry has an annual Arbor Day event and we have an annual Earth Day event,” she explained in an e-mail. “For 2006, the Forestry Dept. wanted
to do some plantings in the Garden of the Gods Park and apple tree plantings at Rock Ledge Ranch. So, we (Visitor Services and Forestry) all decided that it made
sense to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day together this year…
“We think the two events will definitely complement each other this year and will provide an awesome event for citizens to appreciate and enjoy our city's
breathtaking natural resources and better understand our role as stewards.”
For more information, call the Visitor Center 219-0108 or Rock Ledge Ranch at 578-6777.